Passionate Details

Time Marches On and On and On

Yikes!!! One month since my last post! They always say that the summer seems to fly by, and this year has been no exception. Luckily, we've been having fun along the way. We did finish painting the porch, and as soon as the sun is shining, and everyone clears off for a few minutes, I'll take some photos. It was a time consuming job, but now that it's done, .....oh so worth it!!! There has also been time this past month for a little of this...

And a little of this...

There was time to make a trip to the All Star Game....

Another chance to spend some time in Yankee Stadium before it's gone...

Some of our time was spent doing this...

I just love watching the three of them together.....

And just in case you were beginning to think it's all been fun and games.....

 

Remember the construction of the new laundry room? Well, this is what was left of the old foundation and you can see the new foundation around it.

 

Here's the beginning of our new room, I can't wait for it to be finished, our whole house has been turned upside down.... Thank goodness it's summer!!

And, I just had to show you the yummy banana bread I discovered, thanks to Kelly Henderson of Monarch Post. I didn't have any nuts on hand, but I did add a teaspoon of cinnamon. This is sooooo easy and is absolutely delicious!!

This whole loaf was gone in a matter of minutes when I announced that the banana bread was cool enough to cut. I don't mind making it from scratch, but you really have to give this a try!!! Thanks Kelly!!!

So, I hope you're all enjoying the summer....it does fly by....

Meleen

Oh, The Places I've Been........

Well, I wish I could tell you I've been on a fabulous vacation, a book tour perhaps. Or, so busy creating so many beautiful things that I just haven't had time to blog, but none of it would be true. We've just been busy with everyday life. Our old, teeny, tiny, laundry room is coming down to make way for a new room. The old laundry room (only 5' x 7') is really just an over grown closet, but do you have any idea how much "stuff" can be packed into such a small space!! I can't believe how much was in there.....coats, jackets, boots, sports equipment. Everyone has claimed what they want and the rest has been carted off to be donated to charity. And just in case that wasn't enough work, we decided to clear our wrap around porch of every last piece of furniture, and scrape, and sand, and sand again.

Then we swept and vacuumed every last fleck of paint! I am happy to report our porch is sporting a fresh coat of primer and one finish coat of dark green paint (the exact name of the color escapes me and I'm too tired to go and find out!).

Now, if it wasn't for a thunderstorm that rolled on through, we would have painted the 2nd coat, carried all the wicker back, and sat a sipped a yummy beverage.....but, that will just have to wait. In between all these projects, we had a wonderful Father's Day celebration, and went to an overnight college orientation! I just can't wait for time for one of my "projects" !!! Have a great week!!

Meleen

Celebrating One Of My Three Greatest Creations

This has been quite a busy week, but for all the right reasons....my middle child had his senior barbecue, Prom, Baccalaureate Mass, High School Graduation, and Graduation Party! (Phew....I'm out of breath just typing it!!) We are all exhausted, full (way, way too much eating!), and very happy!

 

To say how proud we are of him ( all our children, really!!) never seems be enough, but "proud" was just bursting out all over!!! Emotions were just spilling out all over this week...excitement, nervousness, joy, and of course, the bittersweet moments of saying goodbye to the old and anticipating the new!!

So, here's to you, Christopher, as you end one chapter and begin another!!

We love you Bim!!

Meleen

Designed for Kapi and Herbert

Do you ever find yourself immediately drawn to certain objects or things? That's how it was for me as soon as I saw this beautiful tray at the thrift store.

I just love the colors, but it became extra special when I turned it over to look at the back..........

 

Who were "Kapi and Herbert"?....and what happened in 1961? was it a wedding gift? an anniversary gift? maybe a house warming gift? Did Kapi and Herbert love lilacs, peonies, and other wild flowers like I do? You see, I have many tole trays and really didn't need another tray, but this tray just seemed so special...who could resist....and so, this little tray just had to come home with me!! I also found this beautiful pillow case while I was there.....

Last, but not least, I found this little stone squirrel at a yard sale. I was on my was to the grocery store and decided to stop at this sale. It was late in the day, and this little guy was still sitting there. The poor thing is missing a foot, but that doesn't bother me at all.

I think he'll look adorable somewhere in my garden....I hope he likes his new home!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Meleen

The Friendship Pin

Well, this "friendship" all started with a blog giveaway comment. The next thing I know, I was the winner!! Melissa of Charm School Jewels made the beautiful Marie Antoinette inspired friendship pin!! I had been away and picked up my mail from my neighbor and this was the wonderful package waiting for me!

Isn't it so sweet!! ....Marie, her Crown, and "the Cake"!!

After a few emails, we discovered our paths have already crossed...Melissa was a vendor at Silver Bella last November and my daughter bought a beautiful charm bracelet from her. She wears quite often and always gets so many complements! Melissa even remembered which bracelet she bought! This "friendship" was already in the making!! So, thanks again Melissa, I love my new pin!!

Meleen

More Vacation Photos...

So, here's the family on vacation (minus me, I jumped out to take this photo!!)

As you can see, we packed way too many clothes, and wore them all, which would explain the mountain of laundry that's now spilling out of the laundry room and into the kitchen! As I mentioned in the previous post, the Flower and Garden Show is running right now, so here are a few more photo's...

Oh, I wish there was a way to capture the sweet scent and the wonderful background music that plays everywhere! Well, back to that mountain that's trying to escape from the laundry room....

Meleen 

Some Vacation Time

This is just a quick post to tell you that I'm down in Florida with my family. The weather has been just beautiful, a nice change from the 50 degrees and rain we left behind a couple of days ago!! Walt Disney World's Epcot has the Flower and Garden show going on right now, so here are a few photo's.....

Still so many things to see....and keeping my finger crossed that I didnt just put a jinx on the weather by saying how beautiful it is!!

Meleen

Painting with Yarn

I love making rugs and wanted to show you the 4 seasons rugs I've been working on. I don't hook them in the traditional sense, but use a punch needle and hook them from the back. As I've mentioned before we have a collection of baby chick painting, and that was the inspiration for my 4 seasons of rugs. I made the baby chick with lily of the valley for spring.

   

The baby chick with the strawberries is the summer rug.

My autumn rug is still a work in progress...baby chicks with a basket of apples.

You can see it's still on the frame, so this is the back of the rug. You don't see the length of the yarn, that's why you still see the white background between the stitches. I promise I'll post a photo when it's done! I use strips of carpet tacks to hold the monk's cloth in place while I'm working. ( I cover the tacks with a pad while I'm hooking or I'd be bleeding all over the rug!)

I still haven't made a final decision on the winter rug. I have a couple of sketches, but nothing that I'm loving. I've thought about greens and pine cones, or maybe holly leaves and berries..who knows!! I really enjoy the whole process, from sketching my ideas, to choosing the yarns, to hooking the rug. It's like painting with yarn....some of the hand dyed yarns are just beautiful to hook with.

This rug is very special too...my daughter learned to ride on a sweet old white pony named Snowball.

She was in kindergarten when she first rode Snowball, and she would tell me all the time that Snowball understood everything she told him. I could peek into her room and find her sitting on top of a pile of pillows "riding" and talking to an "imaginary" Snowball. I mean really, what little girl doesn't love a pony!!!

Wishing a Happy Mother's Day to all, I hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Meleen

A Little Craft, A Little Food, & A Little Wine

We were invited to dinner at the home of some friends this past Saturday night, and after reading Charlotte Lyons' post about decoupaged plates, I was inspired to make a little hostess gift. I'm always picking up clear glass plates at yard sales, they're perfect for bake sales or desserts and so easy to embellish to fit any theme. I had several packages of cocktail size napkins in my stash, so I went to work.

I separated the two ply napkin and cut out the roosters. I decoupaged them on to the back of the plate with Mod Podge and then added some laser printed copies of an old book liner.

Several more coats of Mod Podge, a coat of white paint, and then I trimmed up the edges.

I put another package of the napkins on top and tied it all up with some ribbon...It looked so cute! Now on to the food... I found this great appetizer in Country Living Magazine that I had been dying to try, a Prosciutto and Fig Crostata, yum!!! I do have to say that while I was processing the 4 ounces of figs, I didn't think it looked like enough, so I ended up doubling up the figs (luckily, I had a 10 ounce package), tasted it, and didn't think I needed to double up the garlic, lemon juice, and thyme. I guess the two garlic cloves I used were kind of big to begin with. This was so easy to make (15 minutes in the oven!!) and really delicious!! So, all that was left after that was to tie a ribbon around a bottle of red wine and we were good to go!! A great night with great friends, what more could you ask for!!

Meleen

Crafting My Way Into the Garden

Gardening is great, and for me collecting and displaying gardening treasures is even better. Now, top that off with a little garden craft and you have one happy girl! Seriously, there is something about vintage watering cans, old worn hand trowels, and moss covered flowers pots that I can't get enough of. Give me a garden cloche, some vintage seed packs and old seed boxes anytime. I love decorating with all of these and this is the time of year to bring it all out. My sideboard and hutch take on a whole new look. I decided to make an art collage to use in my garden vignette. I made some laser copies of old seed packets and vintage postcards, added some lace and buttons and came up with this sweet collage. I was going to collage a box (give me a box, and I can find 100 uses for it) but I decided the board was just right this time.

Now I can't decided where I like it best...

it works in a couple of places...

I guess it will be moving around for the next few days and since it's only 9" x 15" I can use it anywhere! I have lots of the supplies I used here along with some extras, so I put together a few kits if anyone is interested. It would include an 11" X 15" piece of vintage wall covering; a page of vintage sheet music;  2  10"x 14"pages of french newspaper from 1909; 2 laser printed images of vintage seed packs; 2 laser printed images of vintage postcard fronts and 2 of the postcard backs; a laser printed image of an old book liner; a 12" piece of wide vintage lace; a 12" piece of narrow vintage lace; 6 old assorted buttons; and 6 laser printed images of old thread labels. All these goodies for $7.50 (including shipping to a US address), so if you're interested send me an email,(on my "about me" page).

I think we're in for several days of rain around here, so all my "gardening" is going to be in the craft room for the next couple of days. (and that's just fine with me!!!)

Meleen